admin | December 31, 2009
Photo courtesy Sotheby’s, (thanks Tim)
A friend read my last entry and mentioned another painted instrument, the famous “Royal George” cello by William Forster. The cello is certainly magnificent, and it maddens me that it is not in the V & A museum.
I first saw this wonderful instrument in the summer of 1986, when it [...]
admin | December 17, 2009
Violins are handsome objects, no question about it. Lots of writers have gone into ecstasies about the outline, the varnish and the subtle arching and so on. Most of a violin’s form is necessary. Its general shape and size are defined by what is practical and what makes the best sound – [...]
admin | December 7, 2009
I have just been shown a very beautiful smallish Italian violin, dating from around the middle of the 17th century and attributed to Andrea Guarneri. It has an old and slightly ambiguous certificate and a recent unambiguous dendrochronology report. The table can be definitely dated to 1630, and the report adds that, as the edges [...]